…don’t bother.  They’re here!

A fortnightly rant, FL-S style…with a h/t each to “Big Eyes the Klown,” Stephen Sondheim, and the late Larry Harmon, once known to kiddies across the U.S. as “Bozo”.  Harmon died yesterday at the age of 83:

My best friend’s dad is a Klown.

No, really…

His dad is a Shriner Klown.  You know the Shriners, the folks who maniacally drive those little convertible cars in circles and figure 8s along the Fourth of July parade route.

The house where my best friend grew up was like being backstage at the circus. Sprawled across the dining room table: rainbow wigs. Along the perimeter of the bathroom sink: tins of clown-white makeup. On the floor by the foot of the stairs: clown shoes.  And, someplace in plain sight: his dad’s trademark BIG EYES sunglasses.

Throughout his many years of klowning, Big Eyes has done “mitzvah” work, most notably providing a moment of joy to sick kids in hospital fighting very adult diseases like leukemia.     

But it is on days like today, the Fourth of July - when the residents of some Connecticut town or city line up their beach chairs along the main thoroughfare and see Big Eyes and the rest of the Klowns from Pyramid Shriners #9 on parade - that I really think of his dad, and smile.

And that’s what Klowns are for. To make us laugh, to forget our worries.

But, I tell ya, we really could have used Big Eyes, Blinkie, Dizzy, and the rest of the crew this week to liven up some really sour acts in our political three-ring circus.

First, to the Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chambers, the site Tuesday night of a contentious (that’s being kind) public hearing and vote on the Business Professessional Occupational License (BPOL).  Passions flared as hundreds of local business owners - squared off against a goodly number of BPOL proponents - vented their spleens over the impending passage of BPOL.  There were so many people there to address the Board in public session that we hear the actual vote to adopt BPOL didn’t happen until after 3AM.

While I wasn’t there, I do hear from several people that at least one public speaker was threatened by Stafford Board Chairman George Schwartz with removal from the chambers.  And the irony?  The speaker was in favor of BPOL.

So, what is this?  South Korean Parliament?

The proponents will tell you that BPOL was intended, among other things, to stabilize the wild year-to-year fluctuations in Stafford County’s revenue stream and make sure that there would always be enough money in the annual budget for schools, public safety, and other requirements.  We were told that its passage would end the yearly bickering over school funding.

Yet, we now hear the resulting package - negotiated on, then voted in 4-3 by the seven bleary-eyed board members - earmarks all of the revenue from BPOL for transportation improvement.  From the FL-S:

The entire board, however, agreed that revenue generated by BPOL will be used to upgrade county roads and help pay the debt service on a potential transportation bond.

So much for stabilizing school-funding.

It would appear that in their zeal to pass this thing, the members-in-favor gave the dissenters exactly what they wanted.  And, mark your calendars: next year’s public hearing on setting the FY 2010 assessment should be a circus!  So, too, should the races for BOS in Aquia, Falmouth, and Hartwood Districts.

A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants!

Then, a candidate for Congress “suspends” his campaign.

When, Dr. Keith Hummel approached the powers that be that he wanted to run for Congress, he admitted to all the key-influencers and decision-makers that he had once gone through personal bankruptcy reorganization. 

It seemed innocous enough.  And, who among us hasn’t known someone that had gone through the hardest, and most-embarrassing, of financial situations?  Very few, I’d guess.

Many accepted that notion that perhaps there was only one bankruptcy filing.  One person I know, and respect very much, was in a public setting where Dr. Hummel spoke.  She said (he) ”lied to all of us.  In public session, he stated there was one bankruptcy.  One not, THREE!”

After the nomination, the questions about Dr. Hummel started bubbling up.  And, sure enough, an easy-to-run public records search spit out not just one bankruptcy filing in the Eastern District, but three.  And the list of past creditors was long, very long.  Pages long.

Was Dr. Hummel forthright in discussing his financial history?  Not being part of the formal process, I cannot say.  Unlike my friend, I was not in the room.  That said, my friend is an honest broker.  I have no reason to disbelieve her account.

I do know this much.  The machinery to vet and nominate a First District Congressional candidate broke and needs to be fixed.   Questions that should have been asked by the nominating committee, due diligence that should have been done by them, were not.  Information provided may not have been given truthfully, or vetted completely.

The Hummel campaign suspended operations.  And I speak for many that believe Dr. Hummel should now do the right thing and formally withdraw from the race.  Doing so would clear the way for a replacement candidate to come forward.

Then, we need to take a really good look at how all this happened and do everything possible to assure ourselves and the public, that this will never happen again.

Politics should be fun, especially on the Fourth of July.  But in the end, it is and should remain serious business.

There’s no reason, at this moment, to believe that a big name Democrat will swoop in within the next couple of weeks to challenge Rob Wittman now that Keith Hummel has suspended his campaign. I would argue that this is the toughest congressional district in Virginia for a Democrat to run in at this present time and Wittman’s incumbency, headstart, and financial advantages will naturally keep people away.
click on above picture to “embiggen”

A Sen. Edd Houck or a Del. Albert Pollard jumping in the race would definetly be nice, but very unlikely. Here’s some other Democrats from in the 1st CD who may one day step up and try and take on Wittman; if not in 2008, then hopefully sometime in the near future.

Pete Fields, former Stafford BOS member: Declined to run for re-election in 2007 to pursue other interests, but probably would have been able to win re-election fairly easily. Very, very impressive guy who has a future in local politics….if he wants one.

John McGlennon, James City Co. BOS Chairman: Democrats in the Williamsburg region really love him, and many hoped that he would run in the ‘07 special election.

Phil Forgit, Public School Teacher and Iraq War Vet: Lost to Wittman in last years special election by only a couple precentage points less than Shawn O’Donnell did against JoAnn Davis the previous year. His commitment as a Naval Reservist was one of the factors that led him to decline another run this year.

Carlos Del Toro, former Navy officer: Disappointing showing last year against Mark Cole in the 88th House District hasn’t stopped his rise to prominence among Virginia Dems…. He had a prominent role in Hillary Clinton’s Virginia primary campaign, was elected as a Delegate to the ‘08 DNC in Denver, and spoke at Barack Obama’s national campaign kick-off in Bristow.

Gen. David McGinnis (ret.), former National Guard Assoc. Chief of Staff: Pondered a run in the 2007 special election. Served in Kerry’s Veteran Steering Committee in 2004 and endorsed Obama for President this year.

Steve Wolfe, former King George Co. BOS Chairman: Back when he served on the King George Board, it was traditionally non-partisan. Popular in probably the reddest county in the Northern Neck.

Ted Hontz, former Navy Captain: Unfortunately he’s not interested. Came incredibly close to upsetting Forgit for the nomination last year. He’d have a huge base of support if he ever changed his mind.

Hap Connors, Spotsylvania Co. BOS Vice-Chairman: A rising political star in Spotsy (Sen. Houck’s heir-apparent?). Unfortunately, he runs as an Independent which helps only himself (FLS endorsed) while tarnishing the Democratic brand as a whole.

Sen. John Miller, 1st Senate District: Just elected to the State Senate last November. 2010 maybe? 2012?

Gen. Anthony Zinni (ret.), former CENTCOM Commander: See? I told you this was a wish list. He’s been mentioned as a possible VP candidate both this year and in 2004 sooooooo, this is the best possible never-gonna-happen scenario. But you can’t stop me from dreaming.

Dr. Keith Hummel announced today the immediate suspension of his campaign as the Democratic candidate for the 1stCongressional District of Virginia. “Although I have always been open about my past financial difficulties, it is clear to me that they will become a distraction from the real issues at stake in this election,” he said.

“At this epic time in our nation’s history, the stakes are bigger than any one person, state, orparty,” explained Stephen Pierce, Hummel’s campaign manager. “I think Dr. Hummel is makinga very unselfish decision,” he said.

As a practicing Emergency Room doctor, Hummel campaigned on the platform of putting people first and his focused message on health care and the economy resonated with voters throughout the district.

“I have always said that I am an imperfect candidate. Unfortunately, our elections today revolv earound narrow and simplistic assessments of viability. Under such circumstances, it is little wonder that the politics of personal attack and destruction turn the mistakes of the past into harbingers of the future with little understanding that the brutal lessons learned through our life’s struggles are valuable ingredients for successful leaders,” said Hummel.

“This was not an easy decision, but I cannot stand by and watch as those who seek to sabotage the promise of a new kind of politics use my financial history as a lever to fracture the hope for a better America,” he said.

Hummel, an emergency room doctor and small business owner is a long time resident of Westmoreland County. He has been married to his wife Penny for 35 years. Together they have raised five children. He entered politics for the first time this past February against a Republican incumbent who gained the house seat in a special election in December 2007.

James Martin is hearing that Dr. Keith Hummel may withdraw in his race against Congressman Rob Wittman due to some past financial problems.

I’ve heard about these allegations myself, but was waiting to hear back from someone close to the campaign before going public with it. Sad.

James mentions Sen. Houck or Del. Pollard as theoretical replacements; but that ain’t happening.

Awesome.

The site is located at Ferry Farm, just across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg, Va., about 50 miles south of Washington.

Philip Levy, associate professor of history at the University of South Florida, found evidence that the house was a one-and-a-half-story residence perched on a bluff overlooking the river.

“If George Washington did indeed chop down a cherry tree, as generations of Americans have believed, this is where it happened,” said Levy.

Fox News should be taken off the air. No, I’m not saying disregard the 1st amendment….Fox News should not be allowed to call themselves “News,” that’s all. It’s entertainment for angry, joyless losers who get their rocks off demeaning and slandering people they disagree with.

This is what they do to people they don’t like:

Notice they gave the jewish guy a humongous nose. The dark yellow teeth are a nice touch too.

The Fuhrer would be proud.

h/t Media Matters

For now at least.

N.Y. Times:

…a growing band of supporters of Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who are expressing solidarity with him by informally adopting his middle name. The result is a group of unlikely-sounding Husseins: Jewish and Catholic, Hispanic and Asian and Italian-American, from Jaime Hussein Alvarez of Washington, D.C., to Kelly Hussein Crowley of Norman, Okla., to Sarah Beth Hussein Frumkin of Chicago.

In the meantime, if you’re one of the select few who judges someone based on what their parents named them at birth….maybe Barack Hussein Obama is not the candidate for you. This November, I encourage you to write in a more American sounding name like William Jones or Bob Smith if it makes you feel safer.

Here’s some more info on Barack Obama’s scary terrorist-sounding name:

Barack is a Semitic word meaning “to bless” as a verb or “blessing” as a noun. In its Hebrew form, barak, it is found all through the Bible. It first occurs in Genesis 1:22: “And God blessed (ḇāreḵə ) them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.”

Here is a list of how many times barak appears in each book of the Bible.

Now let us take the name “Hussein.” It is from the Semitic word, hasan, meaning “good” or “handsome.” Husayn is the diminutive, affectionate form.

Barack Obama’s middle name is in honor of his grandfather, Hussein, a secular resident of Nairobi. Americans may think of Saddam Hussein when they hear the name, but that is like thinking of Stalin when you hear the name Joseph. There have been lots of Husseins in history, from the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, a hero who touched the historian Gibbon, to King Hussein of Jordan, one of America’s most steadfast allies in the 20th century. The author of the beloved American novel, The Kite Runner, is Khaled Hosseini.

But in Obama’s case, it is just a reference to his grandfather.

It is worth pointing out that John McCain’s adopted daughter, Bridget, is originally from Bangladesh. Since Hussein is a very common name in Bangladesh, it is entirely possible that her birth father or grandfather was named Hussein.

–Chris Hussein Guy
 

Here’s a great first-hand account of local Democrats in the Culpeper & Rappahannock area uniting for change:

And then, one by one, several people in the audience raised their hands and told their stories.

There was the woman with a daughter who worried about the composition of the Supreme Court. Applause. There was the 10-year-old redheaded boy who said he liked Obama not just because his grandparents sitting next to him liked Obama but because Obama would “make the world like us better.” Enthusiastic applause.

And then there was this:

“In 1968, right as I was graduating from nursing school, Martin Luther King, Jr had been killed. Bobby Kennedy had been killed. I went off to be a nurse in Vietnam and my spirit for caring about politics and believing that things could be changed for the better disappeared. It’s forty years later, and I have Barack Obama to thank for waking me up to what is possible; for waking me up to believe again.”

The crowd was hushed and then wildly cheered.
It was so clear: Everything about this campaign is personal.
 

Click here for the complete story

Great job, as usual, by Shawn O’Donnell:

10 days ago, I pointed out that it was a Washington lobbyist who had started the ‘Eric Cantor for VP’ website. Today, in an article on Politico, Lisa Lerer brings up Rep. Cantor when touting longshot VP prospects. She had this to say:

The House’s chief deputy whip is well respected in the party for his conservative record on fiscal and military issues, according to several Republican lobbyists, and he’s from Virgina, a key battleground state.

But back to the website. It was started by a man named Beau Phillips. Beau’s worked for several Republican politicians over the years in D.C., New Jersey, and California. Today, he’s a partner at Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter and Associates. The lawfirms past clients include GE, Verizon, and Hunt Oil. Phillips himself has represented everyone from Major League Baseball players during the steroids hearings, to Arthur Andersen. Yes THAT Arthur Andersen, of Enron fame. And it’s guys like this that want Cantor as our next Vice-President.

This year, Anita Hartke is running against Cantor for his House seat.